It is time to pass on your valuable time and experience to the next generation!

As committed members of the Ladies League, it is always great to enjoy PLAYING but we can learn a lot about ourselves as coaches AND we need to continue to give back and develop the league to keep our sport growing! Be a part of that movement and it starts RIGHTNOW!

I will be managing the coach recruitment for the upcoming 2016 Junior League Season for the Victoria Junior Field Hockey Association and Krista Thompson, Technical Director, will be ensuring you are armed with everything that you need to do your job – whether you have a lot of experience or no experience!

This year’s league starts April 2 (boys) and April 3 (girls) and runs to June 20. Don’t worry you are allowed to have other commitments and go on holidays. We will shuffle coaches around to meet YOUR flexibility and schedule! We still want your commitment so IF you are event the slightest bit interested please go to the below link to sign up now!

There will be a Coaches Meeting on March 30 and 31st at UVIC (Room TBC), from 7:00-8:30pm. You must attend one of these sessions.

Note: A Master Coach will typically be at all of your sessions to help you out and guide you and help YOU learn! ALSOEVERY session comes with a practice plan that every team will follow each week! SO, all we need from you is your time and commitment and if you aren’t entirely sure yet – just sign up online and we can be in touch closer to April!

Please pass this on to anyone else you think might be a fitting and/or interested coach in our spring league. Everyone is welcome to help!

If you have any questions throughout this process or throughout the season please don’t hesitate to contact me!

The Victoria Junior Field Hockey Association is hosting the annual COMETRYTHEGAMEFREE session in the lead up to the Junior Spring League season. This is an open, free session for boys and girls aged 4-18 to try the game for free. Sticks, balls, coaching and FUN are all provided!

Bring your kids, your friends’ kids and your neighbours and help spread the passion for the game of Field Hockey!

Lansdowne Middle School is looking for a middle school field hockey coach for the months of April to May. Games are once a week, either Tuesdays or Thursday from 3:45-5:30 pm at UVIC and practices will be based on coach availability.

It has been a busy month for the Canadian women’s national team at both the senior and junior level. Island talent on the national squads have slowly been increasing as Field Hockey Canada announced this week both the senior national team touring to Chula Vista, USA from Feb. 8-12 and the junior national team competing at the Pan American Junior Championship in Trinidad and Tobago Mar. 29 to Apr. 10.

In January the Under 21 women’s national team toured Chile and played seven exhibition games there, winning three of the lot, and from there a squad was picked for the Pan American Junior team. Victoria’s Lindsay Cole and Alexis De Armond, both Mount Douglas Secondary grads, current Victoria Vikes and former Lynx Club members, as well as Cowichan Secondary’s Sara Goodman were picked for the tour. All three were also named to the recent Pan American Junior Championship team.

Eighteen athletes were named to this tournament, which serves as a 2016 Junior World Cup qualifier. The top two finishers at the tournament will earn a spot at the 2016 Junior Women’s World Cup to be played in Chile from Nov. 23 to Dec. 4, 2016.

In addition to the junior national team selection, De Armond will get her first crack at the senior national team as the first-year Vike was selected for her first senior tour at the Olympic Training grounds in San Diego in mid-February. The team arrives Feb. 5 and trains for two days before gearing up for matches against the USA on Feb. 8, 9, 11 and 12.

Canada and the United States last met in the 2015 Pan Am Games semi-final when the Americans (ranked seventh in the world) narrowly defeated the host Canadians 3-0. The Americans went on to repeat as champion, while the Canadians beat Chile 1-0 in the bronze medal game, earning a medal at the Pan Ams for the first time since 1999.

De Armond will join senior national squad athletes Kathleen Leahy, Maddie Secco and Rosie Beale, all Victoria natives and members of the Lynx Club. Former University of Victoria Vikes members Thea Culley, Danielle Hennig and Kaitlyn Williams were also named to the team and form the core of the veteran leadership on the team.